Personal profile
Research overview
I began my PhD in September 2023 under the supervision of Richard Whatmore and Riccardo Bavaj. My thesis examines George C. Marshall’s (1880-1959) approach to historical representation and reputation through biography and memoir. Despite his long tenure as an influential public figure, Marshall declined to write his memoirs. This refusal to put any of his own recollections in writing set parameters for how historians would write biographical studies of his life. My thesis explores the convictional and experiential reasons behind Marshall’s attitude toward autobiographical writing and considers how his unwillingness to engage in it has shaped the availability and interpretation of material for biographies about him.
In 2020, I received a BA in History from Patrick Henry College (Virginia, USA) with Highest Honours and the Award for Outstanding Achievement in History. For the next two years, I worked in classroom and museum education. I undertook the latter at the George C. Marshall International Center in Leesburg, Virginia, where I (unwittingly) began laying the foundations for my doctoral research. I arrived in St Andrews in 2022 for an MLitt in Intellectual History, which I completed the following year with a distinction. My research interests more broadly include US military and diplomatic history, biography and autobiography as historical genres, and the theme of war and memory.
Education/Academic qualification
Master of Letters, Intellectual History , University of St Andrews
2022 → 2023
Bachelor of Arts, History, Patrick Henry College
2016 → 2020
Prizes
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Award for Outstanding Achievement in History
Shannon, E. (Recipient), May 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Press/Media
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'Keep the Main Thing': The Post-Normandy Debate (August 1944)
15/08/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Relating to Research